Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her mother, Jacqueline, and father Ilan, who is head of mission for the Consulate of Israel to Dubai.

Diplomat tells of joy as first Israeli is born in UAE since the Abraham Accords


Georgia Tolley
  • English
  • Arabic

A baby girl born in Dubai on August 14 has made history.

Mia Sztulman Starosta is the first Israeli infant to be born in the UAE since the Abraham Accords.

Her father, Ilan Sztulman Starosta, is head of the mission for the consulate of Israel to Dubai, and her mother, Jacqueline, is the economic advisor there.

They moved to the emirate for the roles six months ago.

All our other children were born in Israel, but Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE, after the Abraham Accords, which of course is emotional for me
Ilan Sztulman Starosta,
head of mission for the Israeli consulate in Dubai

Mia is their fifth child and weighed a healthy 2.9 kilograms when she was born.

Mr Sztulman Starosta told The National the symbolism of her birth in an Arab country was important to him and his wife.

“We actually requested to come to Dubai,” he said.

“All our other children were born in Israel, but Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE, after the Abrahamic Accords, which of course is emotional for me.

“The Abraham Accords felt like having a dream when it became true. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we’ve been involved in so many attempts to get to peace moving, and suddenly we managed to break through.”

A birthday and an anniversary

Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her father, Ilan Sztulman Starosta, head of mission for the consulate of Israel to Dubai
Baby Mia is the first Israeli to be born in the UAE. Pictured with her father, Ilan Sztulman Starosta, head of mission for the consulate of Israel to Dubai

Israel’s Foreign Minister, Yair Lapid, inaugurated Israel’s consulate in Dubai in June and described it as a “centre for co-operation”.

Mia was born days after the Israelis and Emiratis celebrated the anniversary of the Abraham Accords, which were agreed on August 13 last year.

The Accords normalised the relationship between Israel and the UAE, and also between Bahrain and Israel, meaning overt trade, travel and business could start.

Within weeks, regular commercial flights started between the UAE and Tel Aviv, and more than 200,000 Israelis have visited the Emirates. That number would probably have been higher were it not for the pandemic.

Mr Sztulman Starosta said Mia’s birth was easy, but now he needs to deal with her documentation.

“We haven’t started consular services yet, so her passport will be the first to be issued here,” he said.

“I’ve got to get all sorts of permits and stamps, so it’s going to take me a few weeks.

“Then we’ll be able to take her back home to see my other kids and my family.”

Watch: One year on - what are the Abrahamic Accords?

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Our family matters legal consultant

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TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan

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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

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Australia

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Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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Top investing tips for UAE residents in 2021

Build an emergency fund: Make sure you have enough cash to cover six months of expenses as a buffer against unexpected problems before you begin investing, advises Steve Cronin, the founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com.

Think long-term: When you invest, you need to have a long-term mindset, so don’t worry about momentary ups and downs in the stock market.

Invest worldwide: Diversify your investments globally, ideally by way of a global stock index fund.

Is your money tied up: Avoid anything where you cannot get your money back in full within a month at any time without any penalty.

Skip past the promises: “If an investment product is offering more than 10 per cent return per year, it is either extremely risky or a scam,” Mr Cronin says.

Choose plans with low fees: Make sure that any funds you buy do not charge more than 1 per cent in fees, Mr Cronin says. “If you invest by yourself, you can easily stay below this figure.” Managed funds and commissionable investments often come with higher fees.

Be sceptical about recommendations: If someone suggests an investment to you, ask if they stand to gain, advises Mr Cronin. “If they are receiving commission, they are unlikely to recommend an investment that’s best for you.”

Get financially independent: Mr Cronin advises UAE residents to pursue financial independence. Start with a Google search and improve your knowledge via expat investing websites or Facebook groups such as SimplyFI. 

Real estate tokenisation project

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The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

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Dimuth Karunaratne (c), Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Thisara Perera, Kusal Perera, Dhananjaya de Silva, Kusal Mendis, Isuru Udana, Milinda Siriwardana, Avishka Fernando, Jeevan Mendis, Lahiru Thirimanne, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Pradeep, Suranga Lakmal.

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List of alleged parties

 

May 12, 2020: PM and his wife Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at least 17 staff 

May 20, 2020: They attend 'bring your own booze party'

Nov 27, 2020: PM gives speech at leaving party for his staff 

Dec 10, 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary Gavin Williamson 

Dec 13, 2020: PM and his wife throw a party

Dec 14, 2020: London mayoral candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff event at Conservative Party headquarters 

Dec 15, 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz 

Dec 18, 2020: Downing Street Christmas party 

Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

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The specs
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Transmission: eight-speed auto

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Torque: 1075Nm
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Updated: August 17, 2021, 2:47 PM